Town leaders approve first phase of Erie's massive DayBreak development

By John Aguilar Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
04/23/2013 10:35:51 PM MDT

Updated:
04/23/2013 10:56:09 PM MDT

The first phase of the 2,880-home DayBreak residential development in Erie, which has been nearly a decade and a half in the making, got the green light from town leaders late Tuesday.

Erie trustees approved a final plat for four filings totaling 250 single-family homes on 305 acres along the north side of Erie Parkway and west of the high school. Road-building and infrastructure improvements could begin as early as next month, with model homes going up by February.

DayBreak, formerly known as Bridgewater, could one day be Erie's largest residential development with 10,000 residents. Erie has around 21,000 residents today.

"This allows us to develop, create lots and pull building permits," Community Development Group Executive Vice President Jon Lee said Tuesday night. "This is the beginning; this is a new day."

The board unanimously passed the resolutions with little discussion.

Boulder-based CDG owns the 960 acres at the northwest corner of Erie Parkway and Weld County Road 5 where DayBreak is planned. The company first proposed the project to the town in 1999, and Erie annexed the parcel in 2007.

Then the economy went downhill and everything was put on hold, Lee said Tuesday night.

"The market dramatically slowed down, and there was no activity," he said.

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But two years ago, CDG lined up funding for the project and began the effort to get the initial phase of DayBreak in front of the town's leaders. Lee said his company plans to bring the next phase -- which includes 200 more homes -- to the town next month. A 275-unit phase could come before the town next year.

"We will phase it based on what the market is telling the town and telling us," Lee said.

While the early phases of DayBreak involve single-family detached houses, Lee said later portions will include townhomes, patio homes, condominiums and maybe even apartments.

"There will be many different types of homes here," he said. "It won't be the same thing over and over."

DayBreak likely won't be completed for seven to 10 years.

Tom Hayden, senior market analyst with housing market research firm Metrostudy, said aside from Candelas in Arvada, DayBreak would represent the first large planned community in the Denver metro area to emerge since the housing market plunged.

"It's the first big centerpiece to come out of the housing recovery," he said.

According to MetroStudy, housing starts in the eight-county metro area bottomed out in 2009, with 2,700. The market has slowly been coming back since, with 5,500 starts last year and more than 7,000 projected for 2013.

Hayden said Erie is in a great position to provide more reasonably priced homes, especially for people with jobs in employment centers such as Boulder and Broomfield.

"To get a home for a young family, they are having to push a little further out to reach the next price niche," he said. "With the demand for housing coming from that area, Erie should be in a good position."

CDG is heavily involved in home construction in Erie. The firm has proposed the 2,200-home Summerfield community in the northeast part of town and the 500-unit Morgan Hill project in north Erie. CDG has developed most of Erie Commons, which at buildout will have 770 homes.